Xander Venema (born 27 August 1985 in Nieuw-Amsterdam, Netherlands), performing under his

mononym A mononym is a name composed of only one word. An individual who is known and addressed by a mononym is a mononymous person. In some cases, a mononym selected by an individual may have originally been from a polynym, a word which refers to one o ...

Xander, is a Dutch singer, songwriter who was part of the Dutch boyband 4 AM. He took part in Dutch series 2 of ''

Popstars ''Popstars'' is an international reality television franchise aimed to find new singing talent. Serving as a precursor to the ''Idol'' franchise, '' Popstars'' first began in New Zealand in 1999 when producer Jonathan Dowling formed the girl gr ...

'' finishing 11th. After ''Popstars'', he has continued with a solo musical career.

Beginnings

Coming from a musical family, where almost every family member sing or play a musical instrument. At age six he started playing keyboards when he was eight he started singing and composing songs and learnt playing the piano. He also studied Media and Entertainment. Around the age of 16 he made a demo, signed a music deal with Willem van Kooten and Eelco van Cooten and released an independent single.

In boyband 4 am

In 2006, he auditioned for the

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

-based Dutch boy band 4 AM and became a member. 4 AM was composed of Koen, Jeff and Daan besides Xander. Xander and 4 am had a minor hit with the Las Vegas-themed "Wake Up Call" that reached No. 24 in the MegaTop 100 followed by "Livin' on Love" The band also appeared on the ''Hummertime'', a Dutch television reality show on Jetix television.

''Popstars'' Netherlands

In 2008, he auditioned unsuccessfully in the Netherlands to the first season of the Dutch version of ''

''. In 2009, he applied for a second time to season 2 (2009–2010) of the competition where he sang "Arms of s Woman" from

Amos Lee Amos Lee (born Ryan Anthony Massaro, June 20, 1977) is an American singer-songwriter whose musical style encompasses folk, rock, and soul. He was born in Philadelphia and graduated from the University of South Carolina with a degree in Engli ...

. Known as Xander, he was picked as one of the Final 14. He sang " Built to Last" from

Mêlée A melee ( or , French: mêlée ) or pell-mell is disorganized hand-to-hand combat in battles fought at abnormally close range with little central control once it starts. In military aviation, a melee has been defined as " air battle in which ...

in week 1, "Patience" from

Take That Take That are an English pop group formed in Manchester in 1990. The group currently consists of Gary Barlow, Howard Donald and Mark Owen. The original line-up also featured Jason Orange and Robbie Williams. Barlow is the group's lead singer ...

in week 2 and was eliminated from competition on 5 December 2009 finishing 11th overall, after singing "Patience" once again and "

I Can't Stop Loving You "I Can't Stop Loving You" is a popular song written and composed by country singer, songwriter, and musician Don Gibson, who first recorded it on December 3, 1957, for RCA Victor Records. It was released in 1958 as the B-side of "Oh, Lonesome M ...

" from

Leo Sayer Gerard Hugh "Leo" Sayer (born 21 May 1948) is an English-Australian singer and songwriter whose singing career has spanned five decades. He has been an Australian citizen and resident since 2009. Sayer launched his career in the United Kingdom ...

/ Phil Collins in a sing-off with the contestants Joshua Newton and Dewi Pechler.

After ''Popstars''

Xander has continued a solo career after ''Popstar''. He performs usually at the ''Lef'' gay club in

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"Ne ...

, Netherlands.
He sings in English, Dutch, Spanish and Italian.

Discography

Singles

;with 4 AM ;Solo (own compositions) *2010: "Miss U" / "Voor jou" / "Anders dan toen" *2011: "I'm Your Man" / "I Believe in You and I"

References

External links

* *
Xander's Hyves page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Xander 1985 births Living people Popstars contestants Musicians from Rotterdam People from Emmen, Netherlands 21st-century Dutch male singers 21st-century Dutch singers